I just had a prefinished bamboo hardwood installed in most of my home. I purchased the Shark sonic duo shortly afterwards. I decided to use the polish to get more shine on the floor. It did give it a little more shine. A couple of days later the floor was dusty so I decided to use the Shark hardwood floor cleaner. I don't know what I did wrong, but now I have a white, cloudy haze on the floor and some marks from the polishing that won't go away. I have been using the vinegar solution which isn't helping much at this point. I'm lost, confused, frustrated, and don't know what to do.

I'm having the same problem as this, I have black bamboo flooring, I did get the haze to go away some by using a magic eraser, and floor stripper and a variety of other things, but it's still messed up, I regret trying to shine it... Please let me know if you find an answer. nikia

My home has huge areas of pale hardwood bamboo floors, including a huge kitchen. Since there are big windows and skylights, every water spot or spill shows clearly. I have not found any safe wood cleaner (tried Murphy's oil soap, Swiffer Wet Jet for wooden floors and a lot of others).

I can easily remove the spills, but the floor always looks streaky when dry. I dry mop in the direction of the wood grain, and even go on my knees, but no great results, just aggravation. Please help.

Answers:

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

Maybe polish the streaks with a microfiber cloth, dry. Could wrap it and tie it around a Swiffer type thing. Or put on old socks and slide back and forth on the streaks.

Do you have a squeegee you could run over the damp spots immediately after mopping? Then catch the bead of water formed with a microfiber cloth. You might just try using the microfiber cloth to clean anything, dry, and see if that helps.Those are all the things I would probably try. (09/17/2009)

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I would use vinegar water. I have used this for years on my hardwood floors. They are beautiful, shiny and clean. I would use a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to a gallon of water. Try to make sure you are using just a damp mop not leaving a lot of water behind as you mop. Also, I have found using a string mop or fabric mop is much better than Swiffers, etc. Good luck with this! Costco has a great string mop for around $5. (09/19/2009)

We bought our high gloss bamboo flooring from Bunnings. Luv Luv luv it. They told us metho. No way Jose. Our neighbour who has had bamboo floors for yrs uses 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water in a squirt bottle. Squirt this onto a clean string mop used specifically for ur bamboo areas. Once the ends of the mop are damp (not wet) mop away preferably with the direction of the planks. Has worked for her and now for us. Footprints will show if the mop us too damp.

I just had bamboo hardwood floors put in my house. I bought one of those Swiffer Wet Jets with the cleaning solution made for hardwood. It leaves streaks and foot prints. Does anyone have any better solutions? I don't know if bamboo hardwood is different from regular hardwood in the way of cleaning. Please help. Thank you in advance.

Dana from Newkensington, PA

Answers:

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I just had bamboo floors installed also and I got a great product, Bellawood All Natural Soy Based Hardwood Floor Cleaner. It even removes the residue or foggy-ness left by other cleaners. And it's only $6 for a 32 oz spray bottle. Go to bellawood.com or 1-800-356-6746 to order. (07/10/2007)

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I use an empty quart spray bottle and put one tablespoon of PineSol in it, then fill with water.

Then I wet and wring out a cleaning towel, spray my bamboo floor with the cleaning mixture and wipe/scrub with the cloth. I use a ScrubbeeDoo handle and head from Don Aslett's Cleaning Center to hold the cloth so I don't have to get down on my hands and knees, but obviously it would work just as well if you get down on them to clean.

This works really well, is very inexpensive, and I don't have to rinse. Just make sure the cloth is well-wrung out and you should have streak-free floors. The PineSol leaves a bit of scent, but it wafts out pretty quickly.

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I have hardwood, not bamboo, but I doubt that there's anything different as far as cleaning. I do what the first poster does, but I use Murphy's Oil Soap mixed with water. It works great, it's inexpensive, and it smells nice. (07/12/2007)

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

Pinesol is a light stripper. It will ruin waxed vinyl floors. Not sure long term if it good for the shine on your floor. (11/08/2007)

By Eric S.

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I have had my bamboo floors for 3 years. I tried water and vinegar at first, and it was a nightmare, plus everything I've read says not to use water. The store I bought the flooring from recommended Bona Hardwood Floor cleaner with a microfiber mop. It's the only thing I use now, and works nicely although doesn't give me that "deep-down" clean feeling. I buy the large refill jugs of cleaner so it doesn't cost as much. (06/14/2008)

By Kathy R.

Cleaning Bamboo Floors

I was very upset when I saw that any mops or chemicals are not good enough for my bamboo floor. (I have a big German Shepard also, imagine that). One day I saw on TV the commercial with this mop. I bought it and believe me is great. If you will have it don't let the steam very much time (use the ON/OFF button) it is good for any floor and carpets. Try it. Look here: gammouda.com (01/18/2009)